FC Goa, Sadiku mutually part ways after obscene goal celebration

Panaji: FC Goa will have only five foreign players for the Super Cup later this month after mutually parting ways with Albanian striker Armando Sadiku.
In a brief statement on Monday, the club said the two have “mutually agreed to part ways with immediate effect.”
No reasons were officially provided for the termination of contract, but club sources said there were disciplinary issues that came to the fore during and after the second leg semifinal against Bengaluru FC at Fatorda.
Against Bengaluru, with Goa needing a goal to draw the game on aggregate and take it to extra time, Sadiku took the field in the 75th minute, replacing captain Odei Onaindia. Soon enough, he scored with just two minutes left on the clock and celebrated by making an obscene and inappropriate gesture.
The club is then understood to have served him a show cause, asking him to explain his behaviour that was “unbecoming of a professional athlete and reflected serious lack of discipline.”
The parting of ways comes at a time when Goa are chasing a continental spot, which they hope to secure by winning the Super Cup, to be held in Bhubaneswar later this month.
Sadilku is the club’s only recognised striker with Aaren D’Silva ruled out of the season with an injury.
The Albanian striker, who joined Goa after winning the ISL Shield with Mohun Bagan Super Giant last year, scored 10 goals in 24 ISL appearances, the highest for the club. The lethal goalscorer took the league by storm with a fiery start, netting eight goals in his first seven consecutive games, the best start for any Goa player since inception.
However, with playing time restricted on the field, Sadiku struggled to find the back of the net in the latter part of the season, scoring only two goals in his next 17 matches. The Albanian striker started just six of his last 15 matches in the ISL, with coach Manolo Marquez opting for Iker Guarrotxena.
Sadiku finished the season as Goa’s top scorer, averaging 14 passes per game, creating 19 chances, and providing two assists.